The programme was developed to step up the effectiveness of its current No Deforestation, No Peat, No Exploitation (NDPE) policy while also intending to provide remediation for past deforestation by its third-party suppliers. Wilmar will be supporting efforts by Aidenvironment to develop a comprehensive oil palm supplier group mapping database under the latter’s Supplier Group Compliance Programme, which will enable land development activities of Wilmar’s suppliers to be better monitored.

Jeremy Goon, Chief Sustainability Officer of Wilmar, explains, “We remain steadfast in our commitment to our NDPE policy and this new enhanced plan is part of our sustainability strategy as we strive towards a supply chain free of deforestation and conflict.” Jeremy further added, “However, we must be mindful that our pursuit of sustainability goals does not inadvertently create a negative impact on the smallholders. As importantly, we must ensure that by raising the bar even higher, we do not contribute to a growing market of unsustainable palm oil, also known as the ‘leakage market’. Hence, we continue to place much importance on engagement so that we can continue to guide and assist our smallholders and suppliers towards compliance with our NDPE policy.”

Commenting on the Joint Statement, Eric Wakker, Co-Founder of Aidenvironment Asia, said, “Companies in the palm oil supply chain will now gain better visibility into the plantation companies they source from in terms of their operational locations and especially their compliance with the NDPE policy. It will also allow companies to act faster against suppliers found to be involved in deforestation and peatland development.”

Wilmar was the first palm oil company to launch its NDPE policy in 2013 which applies to Wilmar-owned plantations as well as its third-party suppliers at group-level. This had helped pave the way for other companies to adopt similar policies.The Joint Statement by Wilmar and Aidenvironment is available here.